Leao, goals and dribbling for San Siro: “Conceicao is always on top of things, he doesn’t let me give up”

The praise of concreteness. And obviously, for those who haven’t seen the match, thoughts immediately turn to Fofana, Gabbia, Maignan, perhaps Reijnders. This time, however, the man who pays attention to the matter has the name you wouldn’t expect in this box: Rafa Leao, who adds another interesting piece of himself in his long, difficult and rather messy pilgrimage towards the club of champions. From the series: but then Rafa can be effective even without wearing accessories. Because yes, it is possible to throw it in and solve a difficult match even by unloading a left foot with all the strength you have in your legs, without being too subtle. Aiming for the big target, under the crossbar, and not necessarily the spider web in the corner or letting yourself be enchanted by the aesthetics of the impressive conclusion.

answer

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Leao solves it, and he does it in a different way. It stands out because that angry net, devoid of frills, arrived after the companions had eaten everything to eat. Musah, Theo, court martial stuff because this time it wasn’t just three points at stake. But the possibility of continuing to chase the direct round of 16 – raise your hand if you imagined it, on the day of the draw -, together with the possibility for the club to put another couple of million in the safe (2.1 to be precise) kindly donated by UEFA to whoever wins a Champions League match in the championship phase. Leao scores, solves, mounts the surf and begins to impose an important presence in this cup. We are at goal number three in a single edition and at most in the Champions League he had only scored it once. Not only that. The three goals have come in the last three matches (the same as those scored in the previous 24 matches in the competition), one per match and it is a superb response to what remains his biggest flaw: continuity. For example, the last Rossoneri to score in three consecutive Champions League matches was Ibra between 2011 and 2012.

always on point

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Rafa entered the Girona goal, freeing himself from David Lopez with a sharp dribble, which in this Champions League is becoming the house specialty: Rafa managed 26, the record together with Rogers (Aston Villa). At the end of the match Leao spoke of the “joy of playing in this shirt, of playing a Champions League match and with this team that is doing an incredible job and won in front of our fans. We are happy.” Also because “we are starting to understand what the coach wants”, and this is no small feat. Rafa explains: “Conceiçao has the mentality of always being on the ball. He immediately approached me and won’t let me give up, he’s been like this with everyone since the beginning. He talks to me a lot, he’s trying to help me as a man and a player. I try to always give 100% because he is that coach who wants to die for his players and I want to do the same.”